More than news reports connect tornado victims to people miles away

May 24, 2011

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If debris has reached as far as the Springfield area, a Willard man asks:

What about those poor people?

As rescue crews continued looking for survivors in Joplin, more than news reports are connecting tornado victims to people living miles and miles away.

On Sunday, shortly after it stopped raining, Daniel Campbell and his fiance Candace Scherff found a photograph on Farm Road 94 in Willard. Portraying a teenage boy, it was ripped, and had some grass stains on it.

Campbell said he can’t believe the photograph traveled so far.

“You hear so many people died. These photos were obviously in someone’s houses, and you wonder if those people are OK. If the pictures went that far, what happened to the people?”

Campbell posted the photo on a Facebook site “Joplin Tornado Debris. Lost and Found” and sent along contact information in hopes the owner of the picture might be found.

How many people are hurt or killed remains unclear. The latest report, as of about 5 p.m. from the Associated Press, says authorities put the death toll now at 122; more than 750 people injured.

A report by the New York Times says 1,500 people remain unaccounted for in Joplin. However, the story cautions that could reflect a breakdown in communications instead of numbers of people hurt or killed.

Quoting a fire department official, the story outlined continued search efforts and worries about the missing.

Severe weather, including the threat of more tornadoes, is expected to move through Joplin and then Springfield later today. Drew Albert, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said thunderstorms forming over parts of Kansas and Oklahoma are expected to move east into Missouri. He said they could reach Joplin by sunset.

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“These storms are expected to be severe,” Albert said. “We’re looking for the potential for a tornado outbreak.”

This afternoon, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. said there is a high risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of southern Kansas and a moderate risk of severe thunderstorms over central and southern Missouri.

Search and rescue crews continued looking for bodies and survivors today. At least 118 people have been killed, according to the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency. Search and rescue efforts were about halfway completed early this morning, according to the agency.

President Barack Obama, who is in Europe now, plans to travel to Joplin on Sunday. “I want everybody in Joplin, everybody in Missouri, everybody in Minnesota, everybody across the Midwest to know that we are here for you,” the president said from London where he is on a six-day trip to Europe. “The American people are by your side. We’re going to stay there until every home is repaired, until every neighborhood is rebuilt, until every business is back on its feet.”